No request from Afghan for handing over Taliban commander: Pak

Pakistan on Thursday said Afghan
authorities had not made any formal request for the handing
over of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, a top Afghan Taliban
commander arrested during a joint US-Pakistani operation in
Karachi.

Islamabad: Pakistan on Thursday said Afghan
authorities had not made any formal request for the handing
over of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, a top Afghan Taliban
commander arrested during a joint US-Pakistani operation in
Karachi.

"There is no formal request received from Afghan
authorities for handing over of Mullah Baradar," said a
statement issued by the Interior Ministry.
Pakistan will carry out a "legal scrutiny and
investigate the criminal acts committed by Mullah Baradar,
including his illegal entry into Pakistan", the statement
said.

Any request from Afghan authorities for the handing
over of Mullah Barardar, a deputy of Afghan Taliban chief
Mullah Muhammad Omar, will be examined "according to the law",
the statement added.

The statement made it clear that if Mullah Baradar had
committed any crime inside Pakistan, he would first be tried
in the country.
The Western media had yesterday quoted an Afghan
official as saying that Pakistan had agreed to hand over
Mullah Baradar.

The report was subsequently denied by officials in
Pakistan’s Interior Ministry.